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Abstract

The Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) is an aquatic invasive species in North America. Little is known regarding this species' impacts on freshwater ecosystems. It is be lieved that population densities can be high, yet no population estimates have been reported. We utilized a mark-recapture approach to generate a population estimate for Chinese mystery snail in Wild Plum Lake, a 6.47-ha reservoir in southeast Nebraska. We calculated, using bias-adjusted Lincoln-Petersen estimation, that there were approximately 664 adult snails within a 127 m2 transect (5.2 snails/m2). If this density was consistent throughout the littoral zone (<3 m in depth) of the reservoir, then the total adult population in this impoundment is estimated to be 253,570 snails, and the total Chinese mystery snail wet biomass is estimated to be 3,119 kg (643 kg/ha). If this density is confined to the depth sampled in this study (1.46 m), then the adult population is estimated to be 169,400 snails, and wet biomass is estimated to be 2,084 kg (643 kg/ha). Additional research is warranted to further test the utility of mark-recapture methods for aquatic snails and to better understand Chinese mystery snail distributions within reservoirs.

Additional publication details

Publication type:

Article

Publication Subtype:

Journal Article

Title:

Population estimate of Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) in a Nebraska reservoir

Series title:

BioInvasions Records

Volume:

1

Issue:

4

Year Published:

2012

Language:

English

Publisher:

Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC)

Publisher location:

Helsinki, Finland

Contributing office(s):

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Description:

5 p.

Larger Work Type:

Article

Larger Work Subtype:

Journal Article

Larger Work Title:

BioInvasions Records

First page:

283

Last page:

287

Country:

United States

State:

Nebraska

Other Geospatial:

Wild Plum Lake

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